“Campaign Finance FEC Won’t Appeal Ruling on Presidential Debates”

The decision announced by the FEC March 8 means the FEC will have to respond to the ruling by Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Chutkan’s Feb. 1 ruling said the FEC’s handling of presidential debates may have unfairly allowed the debates to include only the Democratic and Republican nominees, while excluding independent and minor-party candidates.

The judge has given the FEC a deadline of April 3 to respond to her ruling, either by altering previous enforcement and rulemaking decisions regarding debates or by providing a more convincing explanation of the agency’s previous actions (Level the Playing Field v. FEC, D.D.C., No. 15-cv-1397, order 2/10/17).